And She Was There
by The Voices
Summary: This is the tale of Frodo's little sister. It is the story of their lives, their triumphs, their falls, and their times together.
1. The Beginning of a Story

This is the story of Frodo's sister. In the head, she is fondly known as Little Hobbit Zephyr. (the little hobbit form of Zephyr) Anyway, we felt her story was worth telling, and here it is.  
  
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Disclaimer: I own nothing.  
  
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It was raining heavily that night in the Shire. Frodo Baggins say in front of the window and watched the water streak down the pane, like tears from the sky.  
  
"Frodo? It's late. What are you still doing up? " Bilbo's voice came from behind him.   
  
"I'm watching the rain." Frodo replied. "There's something magical about the rain, and almost sad." his voice trailed off.  
  
"Well, now it's time that you went to sleep. It's almost tomorrow you know."  
  
"Alright Bilbo." Frodo said. He gave his uncle a hug, and meandered off to bed.  
  
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Outside, a small girl staggered up the road. Her black hair was plastered against her face with the rain. She was so pale, it seemed as if the storm had washed all her color away; her dark violet eyes stood out against her pale skin. She didn't know where she was going, nor where she had been. She didn't even know who she was anymore.  
  
She went up the walkway of a hobbit hole, planning, somewhere in her fevered head, to ask for shelter. But the door just seemed to get further and further away, no matter how much she walked towards it. She reached out desperately for the door, and collapsed on the doorstep.  
  
And the rain poured down.  
  
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Frodo woke up early the next morning, and he helped Bilbo to cook breakfast. After tea, sausage, eggs, and waffles, Frodo excused himself to go outside. He wanted to talk to Sam, who would be there an minute.  
  
He opened the door to a beautiful spring day, only to find a small hobbit girl passed out on the doorstep.  
  
"Bilbo!" He yelled. "Bilbo! You had better come here and quickly!"  
  
Bilbo hurried himself out into the entryway where he saw the girl on the doorstep.  
  
"Good Gracious!" he exclaimed, "Come on Frodo, help me get her inside."   
  
Together, they moved the girl from the doorstep to the sofa in the living room.  
  
"Frodo, get the smelling salts if you please." Bilbo said.  
  
Frodo was quick to comply.  
  
Bilbo waved the smelling salts under the girl's nose, and her eyes fluttered open.  
  
"Where... Am I?" she asked slowly. She clutched the fabric of her worn dress nervously as her eyes darted around.   
  
`she's such a small girl.' Frodo thought. `she can't be much older than five. Five! And wandering out on her own..'  
  
"You are in my home, Bag End, in Hobbiton." Bilbo proceeded to answer the girl's previous question. "I am Bilbo Baggins. This is my nephew, Frodo."  
  
The girl stared up at him, not quite knowing how to respond.  
  
"What's your name?" Bilbo prompted.  
  
"I don't know." came the quiet reply.  
  
"Where are you from?" Frodo asked."  
  
"I don't know." she said.  
  
"Where were you going?" Bilbo asked.  
  
"I don't know." The girl said. "Stop asking me questions I can't answer!" Her eyes were filled with tears as she looked up at him defiantly, gaining some spirit as she became more aware of herself and her surroundings.  
  
"Well," Bilbo said. " I have reached a conclusion."  
  
The girl pulled her knees up to her chest, and was paying attention to everything around her with great awareness.  
  
"I certainly can't send you off with nowhere to go. How would you like to stay with us?"  
  
"You'd let me stay?" The girl asked, somewhat suspiciously.  
  
"Of course." Bilbo replied. "Right, Frodo?"  
  
Frodo nodded. "Right."  
  
"So," Bilbo said, "Yet another resident added to Bag End."  
  
"But Bilbo," Frodo said smiling, "What are we to call this new resident? She cannot go nameless."  
  
"Right you are, Frodo. Well little one, what should we call you?"  
  
The girl's eyes shut, and she squinted a little, then she said, "Zephyr, call me Zephyr."  
  
"Alright Zephyr, what say we go through all the legalities and have you adopted into this family?"  
  
"Yes, please." she replied. Well, this was a day, for the first time she could remember, she had a home, a family, a future.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Zephyr took well to her new environment. Over the years, she grew very close to Frodo, her `brother', and he to her. Time came that they were quite inseperable.  
  
Zephyr also had quite a taste for mischief, so naturally, she became very close to Frodo's trouble-making cousins, Merry Brandybuck, and Pippin Took. 


	2. Wizarding Arrival

Here we go. More of LHZ's tale. Right'ho!!  
  
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Disclaimer: Again, I own nothing.  
  
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Frodo Baggins sat beneath a tree, reading one of his many books.  
  
"Whatcha doin' Frodo?"  
  
He looked in the direction the voice, only to come face to face with a face, hanging upside down from the tree branch.  
  
"Woah!" he jumped back a little. "Zephyr, what are you doing?" He regarded his sister's pale face with it's dark violet eyes.  
  
She smiled slyly, "I asked you first." she said.   
  
Frodo sighed. "I'm reading." he said. "Now come down from there before you break something. Like your back."  
  
Gracefully, Zephyr flipped down from the tree branch, and landed, catlike, on all fours.  
  
"I swear Zephyr, sometimes I think your part elven."   
  
Zephyr smiled. "Listen." She said.  
  
"I don't hear anything."  
  
"Shh!!! Listen!!"  
  
Frodo was quiet, and listened hard, and after a few seconds, heard faint singing.  
  
"It's Gandalf! Come on!" Frodo took off, closely followed by Zephyr.   
  
"Gandalf! Frodo yelled as he came up to the point where he came into contact with Gandalf's cart.   
  
"Bit late, aren't you?" Zephyr asked. "We expected you at least a week ago."  
  
"A wizard is never late," Gandalf said. "He arrives precisely when he means to."  
  
"Of course. You come and go as you please." said Frodo as Zephyr giggled. "Always have, always will I suppose."   
  
"Well, hop on." Gandalf said. "I'll give you a short ride. Give us a chance to talk."  
  
Frodo climbed into the cart and perched himself on the bench next to Gandalf. Zephyr climbed into the back of the cart among many odd shaped parcels that could only be Gandalf's famous fireworks.  
  
So they rode, and spoke. They talked about Bilbo's party, and, eventually, the conversation turned to Bilbo himself.  
  
"To tell you the truth," Frodo began, "Bilbo's been a bit odd lately, more so than usual I mean."  
  
"Yes." Zephyr put in. "He's taken to locking himself in his study, and pouring over old maps when he thinks we're not looking."   
  
"He's up to something." Frodo said.  
  
Gadalf gave a wise sounding, `Hmm..' and then tried to feign indifference and ignorance. He wasn't very good at it.  
  
"Alright then, keep your secrets." Frodo said. "But I know you had something to do with it."  
  
"Good gracious me." Gandalf said.  
  
"Before you came along, we Bagginses were very well thought of."  
  
"Indeed?"   
  
"Never had any adventures or did anything unexpected."  
  
"If you're referring to the incident with the dragon," Gandalf said, "I was barely involved. All I did was... Give your uncle a little nudge out of the door."  
  
"Well whatever you did," Zephyr said, "You've been officially labeled a disturber of the peace."   
  
"Oh really?" Gandalf said. This was reputable information, Zephyr was a hobbit who got around as much as, if not more than, her brother.  
  
They heard shouts of Gandalf's name, and turned to see a crowd of tiny hobbit children following the cart yelling for fireworks.  
  
"Now, settle down all of you." Gandalf said. "You will see plenty of fireworks tomorrow night, and not a moment before."  
  
The children moaned their discontent as one, and then split up to go their separate ways.  
  
"I'm glad you're back Gandalf." Said Frodo, and then he leaped from the cart.   
  
"Very glad." Zephyr said, and then hopped off after her brother, tackling him to the ground.  
  
"So am I, dear hobbits. So am I."  
  
Gandalf chuckled to himself as he rode on. Zephyr and Frodo were lucky to have each other. 


	3. The Holding of a Party

Zephyr: Well Well now, another chapter.  
  
LHZ: I think you're doing a wonderful job of writing this Zeph. It's very well done.  
  
Zephyr: Anything for my hobbit self.  
  
Brimstone: Let the writing and continuation begin!!  
  
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Disclaimer: Tolkein owns the storyline, fantastical world, and everything else. We've been through this how many times now?   
  
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The day of Bilbo's party dawned and there was much hustle and bustle as hobbits from every corner of the Shire began arriving in carts, on foot, by pony, and in any other way they could manage.   
  
Merry Brandybuck and Pippin Took had arrived early on, and they and Zephyr had quaintly disappeared, probably off causing mischief as was their style. Frodo helped Bilbo greet his guests and direct them to the festivities. Presents were given and there was much merriment made.   
  
Sometime in the afternoon, Zephyr, Merry, and Pippin slipped back into the general party throng.  
  
There was food an merriment and dancing, particularly once evening had fallen and Gandalf began to set off his famous fireworks. As the music played, Zephyr danced merrily with Frodo. Eventually, Frodo saw Sam sitting alone at a table and went to talk to him. Zephyr looked around for another partner, only to see Pippin there waiting. How long had he been standing there? Oh well. They began to dance. Meanwhile, Frodo was trying to convince Sam to ask Rosie, who he was obviously sweet on, to dance.   
  
"Go on then!"  
  
"I... I think I'll just have another ale." Sam said, reaching for his mug.   
  
Recognizing Sam's attempt to get away from his prodding, Frodo grabbed his friend by the shoulders.   
  
"Oh no you don't!" And proceeded to shove him towards Rosie, who grabbed him and continued dancing.   
  
Frodo laughed as Sam hurried to try and figure out what to do with his hands, and his feet.  
  
Meanwhile, Pippin and Zephyr had stopped their dancing, and met Merry over by Gandalf's fireworks.   
  
Merry had the genius idea that they should set one off theirselves. As Zephyr kept watch, he boosted Pippin into the cart, and Pippin rummaged through the fireworks.  
  
"No, the big one! Big one!"   
  
Pippin grabbed a very large firework, hopped out, and the he and Merry went into a nearby tent, Zephyr outside, keeping watch.  
  
Once inside, Pippin stuck the firework in the ground, and lit the fuse.  
  
"Done!" he said proudly as it fell towards Merry.  
  
"You're supposed to stick it in the ground!" Merry said, pushing the firework back at Pippin.  
  
"It is in the ground!" Said Pippin, and shoved the firework back at Merry.  
  
"Outside!" Merry shoved it back at Pippin.  
  
"This was your idea!" Pippin shoved the firework back at Merry.  
  
Merry began to say something, but the firework went off, and the two of them screamed like little girls as it went up, taking the tent with it.   
  
The firework took the shape of a dragon as it wheeled over the party grounds, scaring many as it went. Only when it exploded into many flares of falling color over the lake did the party guests realize it was only a firework, and begin to cheer and applaud.  
  
Zephyr looked down at two blackened hobbits with singed hair and shook her head as she munched on an apple she had acquired somewhere.   
  
"That was good." Pippin said.  
  
"Let's get another one." Merry said.  
  
Zephyr was about to comment when she heard someone coming. She scampered off, and not a moment too soon. A split second later, Gandalf stepped into the cleared area and grabbed the two hobbit lads by their ears.   
  
"Meriadoc Brandybuck." He said. "And Peregrin Took!" He shook his head. "I might have known." He paused. "And where is Zephyr? She's always about when you two are making trouble. Well, come on, out with it. I know she's here somewhere."   
  
Zephyr stepped out from behind a tree. "Can't put anything past you Gandalf."  
  
"She didn't have anything to do with it." Pippin said suddenly.  
  
Zephyr whipped her head around to look at him.  
  
"Really Gandalf. It was all us. She just showed up because she was looking for us." Pippin said.  
  
Merry looked at Pippin oddly. Wondering just what was going through his head as he made his little argument.  
  
"Is this so?" Gandalf asked Zephyr.  
  
She looked Pippin in the eye and recognized the pleading look for her to go along with it.   
  
"Yeah. That's pretty much it." She said.  
  
"Alright Zephyr, you may go."   
  
With a last look towards Pippin, she turned and went off in search of Frodo to tell him of this odd new development.  
  
"As for you two," Gandalf said, looking down at the two hobbits he still held by the ear. "I'm sure there are plenty of dishes that need washing."  
  
Merry groaned as Gandalf dragged them away.  
  
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End file.
